


Journey

by Donya



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Gen, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 10:49:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19294204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Donya/pseuds/Donya
Summary: At the start of the events of Thor 2, Loki is in his prison cell. He finds a time travel spell in one of the books given to him by his mother and travels to the moment he was about to be discovered by Odin in the temple in Jotunheim.  He hides his infant self and thus everything changes.





	Journey

The third week of Loki's lengthy prison sentence started as usual. One of the guards brought him a stack of books prepared by Frigga. Loki, still feeling betrayed by his family, considered ripping the pages out and setting them on fire. A momentary satisfaction would be nice, but what exactly would occupy his mind afterwards?

He leafed through the first book, absent-mindedly. He tried to focus on the words, his mind kept replaying the reprehension that preceded his sentencing. Harsh words from Odin were nothing new, Loki was used to that after centuries of being a disappointment. It was what Odin said about his birthright that stung. And not only that. Now that the fight was over and Loki had nothing better to do than thinking, he began to wonder why exactly he was left in the temple during the final battle between Odin and Laufey. Surely there were easier and quicker ways of getting rid of a baby. Little Loki could have been left where he was, in the palace, where the danger of the attack was the highest.

The second book he opened contained spells. Loki read several of them, incuriously. He had no need for more physical strength, better eyesight or the affection of his beloved. He desired only one thing and that was not Odin's death or the throne of Asgard. He wanted to change everything, prevent his infant self from being taken from his homeland. That was, in his view, the source of all of his miseries. His need to belong and the constant rejection by the Asgardians were the cause of the heartache that marred his youth.

It seemed impossible but moments later Loki came across a spell that was the answer to his prayers. He couldn't believe it, he reread it many times, telling himself that he was probably hallucinating it. He pinched his arm and glanced at the page again. It didn't disappear. It was real, the spell that was his chance to change his life. The surge of adrenaline was powerful, made Loki feel invincible and determined. That was it, his way of undoing the damage caused by Odin.

He forgot about the discomforts of the prison and the cruel taunts of the guards and other prisoners. None of it mattered anymore. His stay in the cell suddenly became temporary. Loki pushed away other books and concentrated on the spell. He read it out loud, then again, focusing his powers on it. It had to work, it just had to. He closed his eyes and repeated the spell.

 

Suddenly he felt a wave of bitter cold. He knew where he was before he even opened his eyes. Jotunheim. He remembered that place, remembered the life-changing moment when his skin turned blue and the confusion he shared with the Jotun who touched him. But now was not the moment to dwell on the past, Loki's goal was to actively change it.

He looked around, seeing nothing but destruction. It was hard to believe Jotunheim wasn't always that desolate. After a moment, Loki spotted what had to be the temple. He knew it was Ymir Temple, who the Jotuns worshipped. He started walking towards it briskly, thinking how awkward it would be to bump into the younger version of Odin on his way there.

The battle was over, that Loki knew for sure. He heard only the wind and snow crunching under his feet. He was all alone until he reached the temple. He instantly heard weak whimpering and followed the sound. And there he was, baby Loki, laid on the floor. Loki stared at him, not used to seeing himself in his true form. He didn't have much time, though, as strange as it was, he had to pick the baby and hide. He tried to ignore the cold touch of the baby's hands and not look into his red eyes that still were glistening with tears. He quickly left the temple. The baby was babbling, trying to get his attention, then gripped his hair and pulled. Loki smirked against his will, he had to admit that he had always been an attention seeker.

He rocked the baby in his arms, muttering comforting words to get him to sleep. It worked and Loki could hide behind a large rock and wait for Odin. He finally saw him. Odin's wounds were still fresh and he was clearly exhausted by the battle that had just ended. Perhaps he needed a moment of solitude before returning home, to his wife and child. Loki watched him stand in the empty temple, waited for him to leave. After a while, Odin turned around and walked away.

Loki stood up and carried the sleeping baby back to the temple. He wanted to think the reason for his presence there was his safety. Preventing Odin from taking him to Asgard made sense only if his real family wanted him. If he was left there as a sacrifice to Ymir, his new future looked rather bleak. But so did his actual present situation.

He lingered there a moment longer. For the first time he was in Jotunheim all alone, no one was watching him or judging his reactions. He could admit to himself he felt comfortable there, despite the devastation all around him. He felt like he belonged in that land, like it was his real home, the place where he was meant to live. At last, he muttered the second part of the spell and the darkness around him changed to blinding light.

 

The first thing he became aware of was cold. Too cold for Asgard. He felt a little groggy, as if he was sleeping for a long time. His eyelids were heavy, but he managed to open his eyes and saw darkness all around him. He recalled what he had done and it seemed he got what he wanted. He wasn't in Asgard.

He lifted his head, looked around. He was lying in bed, someone carefully covered him with a soft fur. He knew what he was about to see before he raised his hand from under the covers. Blue. He was alone and for the first time had an opportunity to study his body in its Jotun form. He sat up, took a good look at the markings on his skin, ridges and lines. He knew they were the sign of his royal status. It felt different to be in his true form. Odd, after so much time of being someone else. Loki searched for the scars, a reminder of his punishments and didn't find them. He changed the past. He had never been to Asgard.

Someone opened the door and walked in. Loki glanced at the Jotun apprehensively., not sure what to expect. He was still a prince, but that was true also in Asgard and Loki remembered all the indignities he had to enure there. To his surprise, the Jotun was happy and relieved to see him awake.

'We were all so worried about you, you've been ill for days. You've had a dangerously high fever and nothing seemed to help,' the Jotun explained and moved his hand to touch Loki's forehead. Loki suppressed the instinct to pull away and for the first time let a Jotun touch him. 'The fever is gone.'

Loki had dozens of questions, hesitant to ask them. The person with him was obviously close to him and also a royal. A brother, maybe? Just then, a strange sensation caused Loki to press his hands to his temples. A splitting headache, he thought, but the pain didn't come. Instead, memories flooded his mind, in waves. Moments from the life he didn't know, playing with his siblings, talking to his parents, growing up in Jotunheim. Life there was simpler and what was left of the palace was far from lavish, but Loki barely noticed that, focused on something else. The dull ache in his chest, the feeling of not belonging, was gone. He had never felt out of place in Jotunehim. Freed from the constant, nagging sensation of being different, Loki couldn't believe how easy life was in his real homeland.

His room appeared to have shrunk when his family rushed to his side, alerted by his brother. Loki stared at them, amazed by his new reality. He had siblings who genuinely cared about him and parents who didn't lie to him or use him. Seeing Laufey there, for the first time since Loki killed him, was admittedly bizarre. Loki regretted his foolish plan to win Odin's affection. Laufey, this Laufey, knew nothing about that, though. He reached his hand out to be absolutely sure Loki's forehead wasn't uncomfortably warm anymore. Such a small but tender gesture, Loki couldn't imagine his adoptive father doing something like that.  
'I'm so glad you've recovered, my son.'

 

A couple of weeks later Loki learnt to stop fearing it was only a dream. He wasn't going to wake up in his cell, he could enjoy living among his people, with his real family. He was curious about Asgard, though, wondered how Frigga and Thor were doing without him. When Laufey's advisors suggested a meeting with Odin to discuss the return of the casket, Loki asked to be a part of the delegation.

Returning to Asgard, even if only for a couple of hours, filled him with conflicting emotions. For the first time, he was there, in public, in his Jotun form. Everyone saw his blue skin and red eyes, and just as he expected, there was staring and almost palpable hostility. He didn't know why it shocked him, but Thor stared too. He was at Odin's side, clearly dissatisfied with the Allfather's decision to at least hear out Laufey. As the discussion progressed, Thor couldn't help himself and interrupted Laufey to threaten him if he was planning to attack any of the Nine Realms. Loki smirked, against reason and that enraged Thor. Chaos ensued and Odin was forced to tell off his son in front of the Jotuns, then ordered him to leave.

Before it was time to go back home, unsurprisingly without the casket, Loki sneaked out to find Frigga. He had to see her. She was in the garden, fortunately alone. Loki hesitated but finally started walking towards her.

'Your Majesty, I-' he started, not knowing what he was about to say.

Frigga came up to him, looking too relaxed for an Asgardian in the company of a Jotun. 'Loki, I haven't forgotten you,' she said quietly, raised her hand cup his cold cheek, but then remembered it wasn't safe for her. 'I'm glad to see you, you look much better. Happier.'

'Oh.' Loki didn't know what to say. Of course, she planned that. That particular spellbook was specifically chosen by her, she wanted him to change his past, avoid past mistakes. Even at the price of losing him.

'I saw what your life could've been like had you not been brought here,' Frigga continued. 'You didn't have a choice back then, so I decided to give you a chance to chose who you wanted to be. Now I see it was worth it.

'Mother,' Loki whispered, not trusting his voice. His eyes filled with tears when he realised he had to leave her. 'Thank you.'

'Promise me something, Loki.'

'Anything.'

'Don't try to break the spell. Be who you really are.'

Loki didn't have time to respond, a loud voice behind him yelled, 'Step away, Jotun!' Thor, that oaf, had to ruin a moment like that. Although Frigga explained they were simply having a conversation, Thor perceived Loki as a cunning enemy. 'You're leaving Asgard right now, or I'll deal with you myself.'

'How would you explain that to my father? Or your father? Don't you care about the truce?' Lok asked, knowing well the answer. He couldn't deny himself the pleasure of teasing Thor.

'Loki,' Frigga said using her special tone of voice that usually ended all discussions. Thor was too angry to recognise it and ask himself why that strange Jotun would listen to his mother.

'Farewell, my Queen,' Loki said softly, then looked at Thor and snapped,' Stop glaring at me, Odinson, I'm leaving.'

Thor didn't trust him and offered to _escort_ him to Bifrost. Loki looked over his shoulder once to catch one last glimpse of Frigga. Then he heard his father saying,' There you are, we've been waiting for you. Let's go home.'

Home. His real home. Loki left Asgard for the final time and returned to Jotunheim to start a new life.

**Author's Note:**

> I changed some things. Prompt by @reader4books: 'As Loki is sitting in his prison cell with Odin's words about his only birthright was to die, Loki was very hurt and wanted to end his life. As he was going through the books that Frigga placed in his cell, one book caught his eye and it talks about a spell that can bring one back into the past. Loki uses that spell and finds himself back in the end of the war, and he decides to prevent his infant self from being found by Odin and grabs his infant self and hides them both from Odin. After the younger Odin leaves the temple with the casket, Loki puts his infant self back where he was, believing that he would indeed die just like Odin said.
> 
> After that, Loki is brought back into the present and instead, finds himself alive and well and healthier than he's ever been, and on Jotunheim. He ends up getting flashbacks of these new memories that have him being raised on his birth realm with love from his birth parents and siblings, along with his magic being praised and respected instead of hated, and even those punishments Odin gave him had the scars from those no longer there. Loki finds out that he was badly ill with a terrible fever that left him in a sleep like state for either many days or a few weeks, and that he woke up with his parents and siblings surrounding him.
> 
> As for Frigga, after Odin said Loki's birthright was to die. It made her furious and she decided to get back at Odin, since she did foresee what Loki's life would have been like if he was raised in his birth realm. Frigga placed that book in there with Loki in his cell so that he could use it, cause she knew he would use it to change the past so that Odin never found him. And while Loki changing the past also changed Asgard and Thor became an even more arrogant jerk, Frigga could care less cause she never loved Thor, due to him not being her blood child.'


End file.
